The first Deuteragonist of the story, Sheeta is a young girl who used to live on a farm with her grandmother. Although living an ordinary life, she secretly holds a mysterious amulet connected to the legendary city of Laputa, making her a target of the army and sky-pirates wishing to locate the city for themselves. Luckily, she meets up with Pazu, who helps her make her own search.

Blessed with Suck: She's the legitimate heir to Laputa and possesses incredible powers courtesy of her crystal. Unfortunately, this makes her a seemingly endless number of enemies who all wish to use her to find the city and the treasures found within.

Break His Heart to Save Him: Sheeta makes a deal with Muska to save Pazu's life. It involves telling Pazu to return to his home town and forget about her and Laputa, which he reluctantly does. Until Dola points this out, at which point he opts to rescue her.

Broken Bird: She's a little cold and hesitant around other people after losing her grandmother and being kidnapped by the military, not to mention everything that happens afterwards.

Combat Pragmatist: A bottle will do just fine to knock out the technically defenseless man with his back turned to her.

Conveniently an Orphan: Her mother and grandmother are established as having both passed on, and it's never stated what became of her father.

The Cutie: The photo speaks for itself. Her behaviour makes her qualify even more though.

Everything's Better with Princesses: Deconstructed - Sheeta is the legitimate heir to the throne of Laputa, but this brings her a lot of unwanted attention from those who want to get their hands on its fabled riches and power.

Expressive Hair: Her braids tend to stand out to the side whenever she's afraid for Pazu's safety.

Heroic Sacrifice: Using the destruction spell to stop Muska and destroy Laputa. She knew it was most likely going to kill her, but she did it anyway. together with Pazu. Subverted when they live through it.

I Am Who?: She's a descendant of the Laputian royal family, making her a princess.

Important Haircut: Muska shoots off her pigtails when she defiantly refuses to cooperate with him.

Improvised Weapon: She uses a bottle to hit Muska over the head and later a shovel to knock out two of Dola's boys.

Memento Macguffin: Her necklace. It's an heirloom of the Laputean royal family from which she is directly descended.

Tragic Keepsake: Her crystal necklace, which was passed down to her by her deceased parents and acts as her protector in times of need. However, upon witnessing the kind of death and destruction it is capable of she is determined to rid herself of it.

Troubled, but Cute: Considering her past and the fact that both the military and pirates are after her.

Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Alone in her room after being recaptured by the army, she absently recites a spell her grandmother taught her to use in times of trouble. This awakens the robot, which proceeds to inflict devastating damage on the army base as it tries to get to her. What's worse, she doesn't realize the robot is trying to protect her until just before the army manages to destroy it. The poor girl is left in horrified tears after the fact.

Pazu

"If my head were any harder, you could use it as a cannonball."

The second Deuteragonist of the story, a young boy working in a mining town whose father died after a lifetime of fruitlessly seeking the legendary flying city, Laputa. Wishing to clear his name, he jumps at the chance to find Laputa after rescuing a girl named Sheeta, who possesses a connection to the city.

Break the Haughty: He takes Muska's money, somewhat realizing it's wrong and upset over Sheeta telling him to forget about Laputa. Cue Dola rubbing it in his face, resulting in a short Heroic B.S.O.D..

Children Are Innocent: He is quite precocious for his age, but also quite naturally ignorant of many things.

Chronic Hero Syndrome: In the climax, where he refuses to leave Sheeta alone even though it could mean a swift resolution of Muska's entire gamut. Muska plays him like a fiddle because of this.

Clear Their Name: He is trying to clear his father's, who was ridiculed for his belief in Laputa.

Conveniently an Orphan: His father died after being ridiculed and there's no mention of his mother. Consequently, no one in his life to stop him from going on a quest to discover an ancient flying city.

On the flipside, both Mayumi Tanaka and Barbara Goodson were in their thirties when they voiced this character in the Japanese and JAL dubs, respectively. It remains debatable on whose take on this character is preferable.

Determinator: In his quest to find Laputa. Up until the moment he takes Muska's bribe, of course - but after he gets in with Dola's gang, it comes right back up.

Enemy Mine: Teams up with Pazu and Sheeta because of their mutual enemy, Muska, as well as their mutual interest/need for Laputa.

Girlish Pigtails: A trait she shares with Sheeta, which is why she empathizes most that Muska shot Sheeta's pigtails off. The photograph of her when she was younger shows that she's kept this hairstyle for a long time.

Good Is Not Soft: She's gruff, doesn't go out of her way to help other people, and steals whatever she can get her hands on, but she is a good person at heart.

Large Ham: Very loud and very upfront. At one points she is even eating a very large ham, which would count as a Lampshade Hanging had this film been made later. Cloris Leachman's voice acting in the Disney dub takes it Up to 11.

Lovable Rogue: A pirate, but in the bottom she is nicer than you think.

"Laputa will live. I will return it to life! Laputa's power is the dream of all mankind!"

A colonel who acts as a covert operative in the military; he takes control of the government's effort to discover Laputa. He's the movie's Big Bad and another person trying to use Sheeta to find the city, having lead the soldiers who kidnapped her before the start of the plot. Unbeknownst to the rest of the military, he seems to have his own motives for finding Laputa.

Disney Villain Death: He's blinded and stumbles around the crumbling Laputean floors. We don't see it, but he obviously dies falling down with the palace floors.

Knight of Cerebus: A particularly notable case for a Hayao Miyazaki film. Colonel Muska has no comical traits, being a Faux Affably Evil government agent treated very seriously by the protagonists. But Muska gets much worse after he massacres an entire army that helped him conquer Laputa, laughing maniacally at their deaths.

Social Darwinist: Which means that he deems everyone else apart from himself as too weak to be worthy to live, even Sheeta who's also Laputian.

The Sociopath: Possibly the most monsterous Hayao Miyazaki antagonist. He is manipulative, greedy, vicious, power hungry and boy does fly of the chain when he goes mad with power.

Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Having a higher status above General Muroro's military and in control of their operations to find Laputa, he's single-handledy responsible for all of the grave danger in the film, in contrast with the comical Dola Gang who never pose a threat to anyone's lives.

You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The other reason he likely tried to kill Musuka at the end, considering that he demonstrated Laputa's true potential. Unfortunately, Musuka feels the same way, and has him and his men promptly killed via a massive trap door.

Uncle Pom

An old man living in the caves beneath the city. He possesses knowledge of Laputa and its resources, such as the aetherium that helps it to fly.

Five-Token Band: There are more than five, but they fit the trope. Some of them are black-skinned, others have distinctly Asian features. Most of the other characters look Caucasian (which figures since the movie is set in a fantasy version of Wales). There is some debate as to whether the different-looking pirates are crew instead of family, Dola's adopted children or her children by different fathers. They all call her Mom.

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